


Only Shadows

by LovedByFew



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Duel Monsters, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:49:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovedByFew/pseuds/LovedByFew
Summary: Isidora has had a rough go of things, but after transferring to Domino High school and meeting Yuugi, things start to get a little weirder than normal. Follow Isidora and her new friends as they battle to save the people they love. (Follows the Duel Monsters Anime)
Relationships: Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh)/Original Female Character(s), Yami Yuugi | Atem/Original Female Character(s), Yami Yuugi/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Prologue

When I was 12 my family was on vacation, my dad didn’t see the semi-truck. And the semi definitely didn’t see him. We crashed into the nose of the semi-truck, and everyone died, except for my little sister Hazel and me. We lived with some relatives for a long time, but I got a scholarship to go to the prestigious Domino High School. My sister was 5 when I got the scholarship, and I wouldn’t leave without her. She came with me and I got a job at a green house, watering plants, dead heading, that kind of fun stuff. My sister and I live in an apartment a block from my school, and now she goes to kindergarten here. Or at least she will when school starts. We got here in the middle of the year, so the government is giving us a week to settle in before we start. I didn’t get to bring much with me, but the one thing I made sure I brought was my deck of Duel Monster cards. My dad gave some of them to me, and others are from my mom. I pick up cards here and there, but they don’t mean as much to me as the ones I got from dad. My parents started building this deck for me as soon as I was born, but none of the others got a deck until they were old enough to play by the rules. Needless to say, Hazel doesn’t have a deck yet, but I’m sure she will, I know she'll have one. I’m trying really hard for her, because besides her, my life is only shadows.


	2. 1

My first day at Domino High has gone pretty well so far, except for my nasty[ uniform](https://www.fashmates.com/set/5b57b1c4acd0a87f650fe400-1532543528277). It’s my last class and we have work time on our assignment, but most people don’t work. They all watch this little kid, Yuugi; teach the tall blonde, Joey, how to play Duel Monsters. 

“Hello, earth to Joey. Come on already it’s your turn.” Yuugi giggles. 

“I’m thinking.” Joey fumes. 

“What’s going on?” a tall brown-haired boy asks. 

“Yuugi here is teaching me how to play Duel Monsters.” Joey explains. 

“Drooling Monsters?” the boy asks. 

“ _Duel_ Monsters, you nimrod.” Joey frowns. 

I look back at my assignment and try not to listen as the girl, Tea, explains. 

“Why don’t we go to my Grandpa’s game shop and load you up with some more powerful cards.” Yuugi suggests. 

I look up at that point. 

“Game shop? What are we wasting our time here for?” Joey leaps up from his desk. 

On their way out I hear something about a super rare card; maybe I could catch a glimpse of it. I decide to follow them, and it looks like I’m not the only one. The boy who sits in front of me, Seto Kaiba, follows closely behind me. 

I round a corner to the Game Shop and enter as I see the brown-haired boy pull a card from the old man’s hands. I catch a look of the colors, but that is all I need to be able to tell what card it is. The Blue Eyes White Dragon! How on this earth did he get one, there are only like four on the freaking planet. I approach the desk to get a better look before anyone can notice me. But the old man is quick, not to mention Kaiba just threw the door in. I approach the counter, followed closely by Kaiba. 

“What’s Kaiba doing here, doesn’t he have a big fancy company to run?” the brown-haired boy wonders aloud. 

“Can I help you?” the old man asks. 

“If you can’t it certainly wouldn’t surprise me.” he smirks as he walks up to the counter. 

I frown and fall back with Tea and Joey. 

“A Blue Eyes White Dragon!” Kaiba gasps. 

He slams his briefcase on the counter and opens it. I peek around the corner and my jaw drops. I see every rare card I’ve ever dreamt of sitting in front of me. 

“I'll trade you all of these for your Blue Eyes White Dragon.” Kaiba offers. 

The old man looks down at the cards, smiles and looks back up at Kaiba. 

“Very nice, but no trade.” He responds. 

I look at the clock on the wall and I see that it is time for me to go and get my sister. I sprint back to the school to get my motorcycle and I drive to get her. I pick her up and she smiles hugely at me. 

“Did you make any new friends today Isa?” she asks. 

Isa, the nickname she uses for me. If anyone else were to ever call me that I would kill them on sight. My dad gave me that nickname before Hazel was even born; he stopped calling me that just before Hazel came along. The fact that she uses the same name for me as he did only makes me care more for her. 

“No, but I’ll try harder to make some friends tomorrow.” I promise her. 

She grins and takes her small purple helmet from me. I laugh at her and start up the bike. We ride back to the Game Store and Hazel follows behind me. 

“Am I getting my own deck now?” she asks me as we walk in. 

“Not yet, but when you’re ready I’ll get you a deck, and you’ll be even better than me.” I encourage her as I open the door to let her in. 

I look up from her and I see the four kids my age and the old man. 

“Hazel, why don’t you look around, and if you find any cards you really want for your future deck, I’ll get them for you.” I tell her and she goes off into the midst of the shelves. 

I approach the rest of the people and I lean on the counter. 

“Sorry about your run in with Kaiba today guys, he was a real jerk.” I twitch half my lips up in a little smile. 

“It’s alright, we dealt with him.” Yuugi replies grinning up at me. 

I look at the rest of the group and I realize something. 

“I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Isidora.” I shake hands with everyone. “I transferred here from Chicago with my little sister.” I explain. 

They all introduce themselves to me and then Hazel comes running to me. 

“Isa! I found the card I want!” she shrieks. 

She jumps up, waiting for me to catch her, and I do, just like always, and I spin her around twice. She crosses her legs around my waist and shows me that card in her hands. 

“Isa I want this one.” She pleads. 

I take the card from her and I look down at it. 

“Kuriboh is a wonderful card, maybe it is time to start building your deck, but only on one condition.” I squint at her melodramatically. 

“Anything!” she squeals. 

“We have to build it together.” I put my forehead on hers and she wraps her little arms around my neck. 

“Of course, we’ll do it together.” she giggles and kisses my cheek. 

“We had better get going. How much is it for this card?” I ask Grandpa. 

“Take it, as a gift. Feel free to come by if you ever need anything.” He offers. 

“Thank you.” I show them my whole smile, and that doesn’t happen often. "Hazel, what do you say to them?” I remind her. 

“Tank you.” She giggles. 

My little girl has some issues with her “th’s”. We walk out of the shop and out to my motorcycle, but as I get Hazel strapped into her helmet, I notice that Yuugi has followed me out here. 

“Thanks, Yuugi, I know that I have no right to intrude, but it really means a lot to me; what you and your grandpa just did for us.” I sigh. 

“It’s nothing really.” He smiles at me. 

“Actually, it’s pretty much everything.” I catch a glimpse of his reflection in the darkened glass, but the reflection itself is way taller than he is. 

How odd. I kiss him on the cheek quickly and look back down at the glass visor on my helmet. I see a man standing where Yuugi should be. He looks just like Yuugi, only older and wiser, more confident even. He wore a look of wary triumph, a small grin played upon his lips, but it was a look of triumph, nonetheless. I throw him one of my half smiles and I tug my helmet over my head. I feel Hazel’s arms wrap tightly around me as we speed back to our apartment.

The next day I change out my amazingly uncomfortable uniform and into something more [comfortable](https://www.fashmates.com/set/5b57b1c4acd0a87f650fe400-1533266797538), and pick up Hazel right after school and I meet the other four at Yuugi’s Game Shop. I walk in and I see Tristan with his back to me. 

“Kaiba what have you done!” Yuugi screams into the receiver of the phone. 

“What?” I gasp. 

“Kaiba has my Grandpa!” Yuugi exclaims. 

“Dat creep.” Joey proclaims. 

I throw Hazel on my back, piggyback style, and we sprint to the doors of Kaiba Corp. We skid to a stop in the foyer, where the old man is lying on the floor cringing with pain. 

“Grandpa, are you okay?” Yuugi rushes over to help his Grandpa. 

I stand over him, waiting for things to get physical when I remember Hazel is hanging onto my shoulders. I set her down and send her to Tea. 

“I failed Yuugi. I wanted to teach him a lesson about the heart of the cards, but I lost.” The old man whispers. 

“How’s the old man feeling?” the cold voice of Seto Kaiba greets us. 

“You sleaze, what did you do to him?!” Joey shouts. 

“All we did was have a little game. I guess dueling a champion like me was too much stimulation for the old man.” Kaiba smirks coolly. 

I want to stomp right up to him and smash that smirk off his face. 

“And look at this sweet prize I won.” He grins even more as he holds up the Blue Eyes White Dragon card that had previously belonged to the old man. 

“Such a rare card.” He caresses the card and then rips it in half. “And now this one can never be used against me.” He laughs heartily. 

I start to charge forward at him, but Tristan, Joey, and Tea are holding me back. 

“You should be ashamed of yourself Kaiba!” Tea snarls while holding my arm. 

“It was a fair duel.” Kaiba mocks us. 

“Grandpa’s most treasured card!” Yuugi exclaims. 

I hear Grandpa moaning over the loss of his most precious card. 

“How could you Kaiba?” I growl. “How dare you?” I continue. 

I look over my shoulder to see who is backing me up when I catch sight of a deck. Yuugi’s Grandpa is trying to hand him a deck of Duel Monster cards. 

“Yuugi, take this. I built this deck; I put my whole heart and soul into it. I taught you everything I know, take them Yuugi, take my cards and teach him respect, and respect for the heart of the cards.” The old man pleads with Yuugi. 

“But you need a doctor.” Yuugi protests. 

"That is the worst excuse I’ve ever heard." Kaiba butts in. 

I throw him the darkest look I can muster. 

“Your friends can care for your Grandpa while you and I duel. Unless, that is, you’re afraid.” Kaiba eggs Yuugi on. 

“Take him Yuugi!” Joey shouts. 

Yuugi and I turn around. 

“We can take care of your Grandpa while you take care of creepy Kaiba. Show that spoiled brat what a real duel is all about.” Joey encourages. 

“For your Grandpa Yuugi.” Tea nods determinedly. 

Yuugi smiles a titch and the four of them circle up. 

“Get in on this Isidora.” Joey calls to me. 

I join them and Tea gets out a giant magic marker. She draws a huge smiley face out our hands while they are in the middle. I get one of the eyes. 

“What was that all about?” Tristan asks. 

“It’s a symbol of our friendship, so we all know that we are never alone.” We all nod and then the other three take Yuugi’s Grandpa to the ambulance. 

I follow Yuugi with Hazel on my heels, almost literally. When we reach the dueling chamber I catch sight of Joey running after us. He makes it into the room just before the door closes. 

“Close call.” He smirks as he joins us on the sidelines. 

I watch as Yuugi is lifted up into the game stand. I put Hazel on my shoulders so she can see better, I see Kaiba say something, but I can’t tell what. The dueling platforms extend a quarter of the way into the arena. 

“Are you ready to play, runt.” Kaiba starts the psych out part of the game early. 

“Play time is over.” Yuugi snarls back at him. 

A bright light engulfs Yuugi, and a similar light emits from my ring. I wonder if that thing he wears around his neck is a Millennium Item as well. When the light fades, I see a man standing where Yuugi was. But it’s the same man I saw in the visor of my helmet when I was talking to Yuugi. Who is this guy? Kaiba seems confused as well, but he didn’t see this guy in Yuugi’s reflection like I did. 

“Now Kaiba prepare yourself, because it’s time to duel.” The man’s deep voice resonates through the arena, sending chills down my spine. 

I watch the duel begin, as Kaiba uses the Hitotsu-me Giant. Good card, but I think Yuugi will have something for that one. 

“Winged Guardian of the Fortress.” Yuugi’s Monster comes out of the card. 

Kaiba’s Monster runs at Yuugi’s dragon, the Giant gets incinerated. Across the arena I see a little boy; he looks up at Kaiba in surprise. 

“Big Brother!” I hear him call out. 

Yuugi says something that I couldn’t hear, but the hum of his voice sends chills down me again and this time, my mind into a memory, or more the memory of a dream.

_I lift myself from under silken sheets to leave before the sun rises._

_“Must you go; there is yet an hour before dawn.” A masculine voice shocks through the darkness._

_“Alas, if I do not leave, we will be caught for sure. It is not my goal to dethrone you Pharaoh.” My voice replies._

_“Maybe so, but I wouldn’t care if you did.” I hear his voice smile at me._

_I feel a hand on my leg; I turn back to him only to have my lips met softly by his. I want to push him away, but only because of the fear of being caught._

_“Atem I must go. You do not want the wrath of the Gods, let alone my father, brought down upon you. Sleep now, I shall see you in the light of the sun soon enough.” I prompt._

_I feel a cold breeze on my, apparently, bare body. The man sighs and rubs my arm with his hand._

_“One day we will not have to hide.” The male voice says._

_I feel his lips meet mine once more, but he leans into the now growing daylight. When we break apart, I see a tall man with purple eyes, purple, black, and blonde hair, and a small smile._

I snap back to the present to see what is going on. 

“Faith is for losers, like your pathetic grandpa.” Kaiba jeers. “In your deck there’s not a single card that can stand up to a Blue Eyes White Dragon. So what hope do you have against two?” he laughs. 

Yuugi draws a card, “Swords of Revealing Light. It stops all Monsters on the field for three turns.” Yuugi counters. 

“How desperate of you.” Kaiba mocks. 

I watch as Yuugi pulls another card. He looks confused for a moment, but clarity washes over him in seconds. He draws another card. Kaiba plays the Judge Man, and Yuugi then destroys it with his Dark Magician. 

“Well played Yuugi, but this duel is over, I call upon the third Blue Eyes White Dragon.” Kaiba shouts with triumph. “Give it up Yuugi; you were never a match for me.” 

I feel my anger bubbling inside me. 

“Shove it Kaiba! Yuugi I haven’t known you for very long, but I do know that you have more heart in your pinky than he has in his whole body. You can do it, just have faith!” I encourage him. 

Yuugi stops for a moment, he doubts his cards, and I can sense it. He looks panicked for just a second, and then he draws his card. 

“Draw your last pathetic card Yuugi.” Kaiba smirks. 

“My Grandpa’s deck has no pathetic cards Kaiba.” Yuugi or whoever that is smiles. “But it does contain the unstoppable Exodia.” 

Kaiba shouts something along the lines of, “Impossible”, but there may have been a swear word or two in there. 

“I have assembled all five special cards, all five pieces of the puzzle." 

“It can’t be!” Kaiba shouts. 

Even I’m a little unsure if I’m actually seeing this. 

“Now Exodia, obliterate!” Yuugi shouts. 

Flame engulfs the whole field; I take Hazel down from my shoulders to cover her. I hear Kaiba scream, but I can’t see him. When the flames die off I see Yuugi standing there, tall and powerful. Kaiba’s life points quickly drain to nothing. 

“You play only for power Kaiba, and that is why you lost. But if you put your heart in the game there is nothing you can’t do.” Yuugi smiles. 

“But how? How could I have lost to him?” Kaiba cringes. 

“Kaiba, if you truly want to know, open your mind!” Yuugi shouts. 

A glowing something appears on his forehead and the tattoo on the back of my neck heats up. Could there be some connection between whoever that is up there and me? 

Kaiba falls to his knees, “There, maybe now you will begin to see.” Yuugi sighs. 

He lowers his platform and I see the tall man fade back into little Yuugi. Is that man Yuugi’s Yami? And what was he doing in my dream, and why were we so . . . open with each other, why did I have that dream the day before I met Yuugi?


	3. 2

I arrive home with Hazel and put her to bed after a small dinner. I stay up really late that night thinking about my Yami. I banished her a long time ago; she stole souls when I dueled back in Chicago. Granted most of them deserved it, but that’s no reason to steal their _souls_. I flew to Egypt once before my family had died. My dad brought me to a priest, and he banished my Yami. Or at least that’s what he said happened. I can still hear her every once in a while, whispering to me in my sleep. Her name was Sekhmet, and she lived up to her name. I take off the Ring I wear on my left hand. I set it on the table, and I stare at it. Memories of dragging people to the Shadow Realm flood my brain. Their screams echo in my mind, I cover my ears to try and block them out. I want to drown them out, but no matter what I do I can’t erase them. The memories, the souls I damned. I think, somewhere along the line, pieces of my soul got left behind in the Shadow Realm. I finally put my Ring back on and shut off the lamp at one in the morning.

The next morning, I arrive at school just as the bell is ringing, great. I skid into the room as the teacher is taking roll call. 

“Here” I pant as he gets to my name. 

He smirks quickly at me and goes back to calling off names. 

“You okay?” Yuugi whispers to me. 

I nod quickly and promptly fall asleep in my History book. I wake up when someone nudges me. I lift my head and I look over at Tristan, who happens to be the one who poked me. 

“What?” I ask hostilely. 

He points at the chalkboard up front and I see an assignment. 

“Thanks.” I mumble. 

I copy down the information and get started on the book work. I finish within a few minutes; I was always good at history even though I hate it. I lay my head back down. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Tristan warns me. 

“Why?” 

“Mr. Hendrix has been watching you all class. If you really want detention tonight keep sleeping.” He whispers. 

I sit up and I try so hard to stay awake. It works for a little bit, but when math comes around, I lose all determination. I would have fallen asleep in my lunch if it weren’t for Tea. She pushed me off my chair, but on the upside my face narrowly avoided the spaghetti. 

Right after school Joey and Tea go head to head in a few rounds of Duel Monsters. Tea has even less experience than Joey, and she won all five matches. 

“Man, you stink at this game Joey.” Tristan laughs at him. 

Joey mutters something unintelligible in response. He walks out with Yuugi not far behind him. I watch them from the window. Yuugi sits on one of the bars as Joey leans on the one next to him. I can see that they’re talking, but I have no idea what they’re saying. I feel someone stand next to me. 

I look over to see Tea, “Which one is it?” I ask her. 

“Excuse me?” she responds. 

“It’s obvious you like one of them, which one?” I ask her again. 

Just then, Tristan joins us, and we just drop the topic. 

“I wonder where Kaiba is today. Not that I care, it’s just . . . it seems like more than a coincidence that he isn’t at school the day after Yuugi beats him in a duel.” Tristan muses. 

I nod and walk outside to where Yuugi and Joey are. I see Joey hand over his deck to Yuugi. 

As I reach them, I hear Yuugi announce, “Nobody could win with this deck, it’s all Monster cards.” 

I stand next to Yuugi, “No kidding, the game is all about combining Monsters and Magic.” I explain. 

Joey shakes Yuugi and shouts, “These are the things that I need to know.” 

I giggle a little bit and I look around for Tea and Tristan. 

“Maybe my Grandpa would like to teach you. He did teach me everything I know after all.” 

“What are we still doing here then?” Joey grabs Yuugi’s shoulder and starts to shove him in the direction of the Game Shop. 

“Keep Joey busy Yuugi, I have to go pick up Hazel. I’ll meet you guys there.” I flash them one of my half smiles. 

I sprint off to my black Kawasaki Vulcan 900 motorcycle and I speed away to the Elementary School to get Hazel. She comes dashing out of the doors of the school seconds after their bell rings. 

“Ready to go?” I ask her. 

She nods vigorously and pulls on her little purple helmet. I give a little solute to the teacher that’s watching us. He smiles and shakes his head. I pull my black Anubis helmet over my head. I strap Hazel in, and I swing my leg over the bike. Hazel wraps her little arms around me, and we zip off to Yuugi’s shop. I can feel the wind whipping by the ears on my jackal head shaped helmet, I'm serious, my helmet looks like the head of Anubis; it's freaking awesome. When we get there, Hazel rushes off to the Duel Monsters section. I give a low laugh at her and join the others. 

“Hey guys.” I chime as I sit on the arm of the couch next to Tea. 

“Hey Isa.” Joey smiles. 

I feel something in my heart snap with anger. I get up and wrap my arm around his neck faster than anyone thought I could move. 

“No one calls me that except my sister. Capisce.” I snarl lethally. 

Tristan tries to pry me off of him but fails miserably. I tighten my arm. He should be running out of air any minute now. 

“I give.” He chokes. 

I let him go and I retreat from the room, a single tear falling from my eye. I find the back door and I use it.

I sit behind the building on a wooden crate. I feel my tears start to release themselves without my permission. I should have known this would happen. I’ve bottled all this up for so long, the rage and despair, never really getting over the death of my family. I feel a low groan escape my body as my insides start to churn. I get flashes of the crash, remembering the car parts everywhere, the blood, and the pain from the glass sticking through my leg, the last scream of my mother ringing out. I cover my ears trying to block out the noise; I shake my head and cry out quietly from the pain. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder. I remove my hands from my ears and look up to see the man that duels for Yuugi. 

“What do you want?” I ask him harshly, as I wipe away my tears hastily. 

“I want to help a friend in pain.” His deep voice hums in my ear. 

“I’m fine.” I hiss. 

“No, you aren’t.” he retorts. 

I sigh, I don’t want to give in, but I need to say something to someone. 

“You can’t tell a single soul about what you are going to hear in the next few minutes.” I frown. 

He nods slowly. I inhale deeply and think of where to start. 

“About 5 years ago my family went on a vacation together. Our van got hit by a semitruck, my parents and brother died in the crash.” I pause. “My baby sister and I lived with other family for a long time, the family we were staying with hated me, they were afraid of me, but I wouldn’t let Hazel out of my sight, and they knew better than to try and pry me away from her. Long story short they treated her well, and they treated me like scum. I got a scholarship here and we left our family. But I never dealt with my feelings after my family died. It’s just been building over the years. And when Joey used the nickname my dad gave me before he died, I snapped. I know he heard Hazel call me that, but it’s different for her. She used that name for me for forever, even though she didn’t know dad used to use it. Joey shouldn’t have gone there. I know that he didn’t know what he was doing, but still.” I stop ranting. 

I feel my tears leak from the corners of my eyes. 

“And Hazel never learned anything about any of what happened that day.” I mumble. 

The man that I think is Yuugi’s Yami looks down at me thoughtfully. 

“I’m sorry, about your family. I don’t know what else I can say.” He lays his hand on my knee. 

I give him a watery half smile. 

“Just don’t tell anyone, I don’t need any pity points.” 

He gives me a throaty laugh and pulls me up by my hand. I stand up and he pulls me into a slightly awkward hug. When we each pull away, he wipes away the last tear that rolls down my cheek. He lets me back into the shop and I see him fade back into little Yuugi.

The next day, after school, [Hazel](https://www.fashmates.com/set/5b57b1c4acd0a87f650fe400-1533792109253) and I head to the Game Shop so I can apologize to Joey for how I acted, he hasn’t spoken to me all day, and I feel like crap. I stop in the bathroom to [change](https://www.fashmates.com/set/5b57b1c4acd0a87f650fe400-1533620024138) out of my uniform, and then walk into the back room. I see Joey sitting on the couch next to Yuugi. I sit on the table in front of them and I see Joey look away from me. 

“Joey I’m sorry about yesterday. I should have said something instead of nearly killing you. It’s just, only my sister can use that name. She’s called me that as long as I can remember, and that name belongs to her.” I plead with him. 

He throws me a hard glare for a moment, but it softens as the seconds tick by. 

“Okay, just warn me next time you almost kill me.” He grins widely. 

Tea, Tristan, and Hazel join us in the back room to watch the championship match. 

“Weevil Underwood versus Rex Raptor? I think I’m giving this one to Bug-Man.” I chime. 

“Are you kiddin’ me Rex has this one in the bag. Those bugs don’t stand a chance against such strong Monsters.” Joey laughs. 

“I don’t know Joey, Weevil is a strategist, he knows this game inside and out. Rex seems to be focused on the power of his Monsters.” Yuugi backs me up. 

We all go quite when Grandpa enters the room, carrying a package. 

“Yuugi, this package came for you.” He smiles at us. “By the way, well done today Joey.” He adds as an afterthought. 

Joey smiles smugly. The match starts on the TV, so we all stop talking and wondering about the package. 

“And Rex Raptor starts with the strongest Monster in his Deck, the Two Headed King Rex. It looks like this match is all over for Weevil.” The announcer declares. 

“See, I told you so.” Joey laughs triumphantly. 

“Silence young one and watch the master work.” I hush him. 

He narrows his eyes at me but continues to watch the duel. 

“Oh, look at that giant dinosaur, and all I have is this weak little bug.” Weevil cackles. 

“And Weevil Underwood counters with a basic Bug Monster.” The announcer shouts. 

“Stomp that bug King Rex.” Rex orders his Monster. 

“You have just sprung my Trap card, although how could your tiny dinosaur brain know.” Weevil boasts. “Cyclone winds, traps your King Rex in its inescapable embrace.” 

Rex doesn’t look very happy about that. 

“And while I’m at it, I’ll equip my bug with armor and laser cannon. Not such a weak little bug anymore.” Weevil grins. 

He orders his bug to attack the Two-Headed King Rex, and just like that the duel is over. 

“See Joey, it isn’t just Monsters that win the game.” I smile. 

“Don’t argue with her, she’s right.” Grandpa helps me out. 

I sit on the arm of the couch and look at the box on the table. 

“Ain’t you gonna open it Yuugi?” Joey asks. 

“I suppose I should.” He looks at the label on the outside of the box and gasps, “Industrial Illusions? They’re the ones who make the Duel Monsters game.” 

“What do they want with you Yuugi?” I ask. 

I wonder if they heard about the defeat of Kaiba. I wait for him to open it, and when he does there’s a pair of weird gloves, four stars, and a videotape. 

“What da?” Joey questions, 

“Pop in the tape, see if it explains.” Tristan suggests. 

So that’s what we do.

“Hello little Yuugi. I am Maximillion Pegasus. I have recently heard about your duel and defeat of Seto Kaiba. And I want a special duel with you. Right here, right now. There will be a strict time limit of 15 minutes. Are you ready?” The tape says. 

“He doesn’t seriously expect you to duel with a tape, does he?” Joey asks. 

The tape laughs at us rudely. Everything around us goes grey in an instant, and the people around Yuugi and I freeze. As soon as I realize where we are, I sit next to Yugi. 

“What have you done to them? Where have you taken us?” Yuugi yells. 

I can’t believe that I’m back in the Shadow Realm. 

“I will return you after our game.” Pegasus smirks. 

“Be careful.” I hiss in his ear. 

He nods and he chants “Yu-Gi-Oh!” the light emits from his pendant and my ring. 

I don’t change into my Yami like would normally happen, but Yuugi does. I stand next to Big Yuugi, as I have decided to call him. We sit next at the foot of the TV. 

“Start the clock and make your move Pegasus.” Big Yuugi says confidently. 

“Certainly, let’s begin.” 

Pegasus goes on to tell Yuugi about how he hasn’t ever dueled someone like him. 

“You may be good- “ 

“I assure the both of you I am.” 

“But I will defeat you and save my friends.” Big Yuugi smirks. 

“You won’t be saving anyone with that Dragon card.” Pegasus smiles. 

I see a faint golden glow from under his hair. 

“What?” 

“Like I said, you’ve never faced a duelist like me.” He brags. “I know every move you’ll make before you can even make them.” He continues. “Knowing all of your moves gives me a distinct advantage, wouldn’t you say Yuugi Boy?” 

I feel a growl-like noise rise in my throat. 

“Oh, don’t worry my little Isidora; you aren’t getting out of this either.” Pegasus looks over at me. “One of those gloves and a set of stars are for you.” 

I feel a shock of anger shoot through me. He thinks that just because he can take me back to the Shadow Realm, he can make me play his games. He is dead wrong or just plain dead when I get my hands on him. 

“For example, Yuugi, I can anticipate your next move and counter it with this Dragon Capture Jar. It will draw the Koumori Dragon from your card, so I can imprison the beast.” Pegasus mocks as he does exactly what he is saying. “Trapped, never to be played against me.” 

I can tell that Big Yuugi is thinking about how Pegasus could read his cards, but I think I’ve guessed how. 

“This is the- “ 

“The Shadow Realm, I know.” I interrupt him. 

He smiles and laughs lightly, “Clever girl, this is a mystical place where the Monsters on the cards are summoned, and the impossible is quite possible.”

“It can’t be true.” Big Yuugi hisses. 

“Believe it, that’s what happens here.” I mutter. 

“And how many trips have you made here now?” Pegasus asks me. 

“Enough of them.” I answer coldly. 

“Tell me, do you believe there is magic in these cards?” Pegasus asks Big Yuugi. 

“You tell me, you created this game.” He retorts. 

“What if I told you that I didn’t.” Pegasus grins. 

"What?” Big Yuugi and I gasp at the same time. 

This is a history lesson I don’t know.

“In ancient times the Egyptians called this the Shadow game. Powerful Pharaohs would hold mystical duels in other dimensions, just as we are doing now. But not with cards, they battled with real Monsters and real Magic. Magical forces so powerful they nearly lost control of them, and destroyed the entire world.” Pegasus ends. 

“It’s a great story, but these Monsters can’t be real.” Big Yuugi says, more to reassure himself than anything else. 

But I know the truth of what Pegasus said, the Monsters do come to life. 

“Tell that to my Dragon Piper.” Pegasus laughs as the Monster from his card rises up in a cloud of purple smoke. “And his Flute of Resurrection frees your Koumori Dragon but puts him under my control.” Pegasus laughs again. 

“I have to counterattack.” Big Yuugi groans. “Silver Fang.” 

He sends out his doomed Monster. And as I predicted, doomed it was. 

“Ah, the heat!” Big Yuugi gasps. 

I just block my face from getting burned. I know what that kind of fire does. 

“As you can see Yuugi Boy, these Monsters are very real. And quite dangerous to.” Pegasus cackles loudly. “Ah Yuugi Boy, you really are quite entertaining. The way you scowl and sneer, so defiant and yet helpless; and so completely ignorant of the power of your Millennium puzzle.” Pegasus mocks him. 

“What?” Big Yuugi asks. 

“Not to mention your Ring dear little Fire Bird.” He directs his attention to me. 

“How do you know my dueling name?” I spit. 

Big Yuugi looks at me in shock, only a few people have designated dueling names, and they are the elite, they earn their names. 

“Word gets around. And to answer you Yuugi Boy, 5000 years ago a powerful Pharaoh locked the magic of the Shadow Games away.” 

“What does this have to do with us?” I ask. 

“The Pharaoh captured these vast magical energies in seven mystical Millennium Items.” Pegasus smirks. 

“You’re saying that my Puzzle is one of them?” 

“Yes, and so is her little Ring. And there are mystical energies locked deep within them. Magic that could change your lives forever if you only knew how to unleash it.” Pegasus toys. 

“Pray tell, why are you coughing up the info?” I ask. 

“Why, because I need you to know, but perhaps I have said too much. And since our clock is still ticking, I propose we resume playing our little duel.” 

He’s right, with the clock running so low, and Big Yuugi is down in life points, this may not end well. Yuugi starts to pull a Zombie Warrior out of his hand but stops. I think he figured out the same thing I did. His weird eye allows his to see the cards in another player’s hand. 

“Come on Yuugi, we haven’t got all day.” Pegasus chimes. “I already know you plan to play the Zombie Warrior, and I’m already prepared,” Pegasus flips over a card. “To counter it with a trap card that makes even Zombies play dead.” 

I feel a smirk slide onto my lips. 

“Not this time, I’ve figured out your little game Pegasus. You may be able to see the cards in my hand, but you can’t see the cards in my deck.” 

Big Yuugi flips over the Dark Magician, a favorite of his apparently. 

“Ooo, a big scary Dark Magician.” Pegasus jeers. 

“Mock me all you like Pegasus, but my Magician will destroy that Dragon.” 

And Peggy doesn’t look too pleased about it but continues to mock. 

“Go right ahead if you think it’ll help.” 

I frown at him; he has another trick up his sleeve. 

“It’ll do more than that, it will bring you closer to defeat; and me closer to saving my friends.” Big Yuugi smirks. 

“If it can do all that, by all means play it.” Pegasus smiles, and that was what I was afraid of. 

The Dark Magician destroys the Dragon all right, but I know Big Yuugi wasn’t anticipating the Faceless Mage, especially being combined with the Eye of Illusion. True the Dark Magician is a very strong Magic card, but this one has some spells that even the Dark Magician doesn’t know.

The Faceless Mage just cackles when the Dark Magician uses his dark Magic Attack. Nothing happens to the Mage, and there are only five minutes left on the clock. My guess is that Big Yuugi doesn’t know what the Eye of Illusion does. He summons the Celtic Guardian, and attacks with it. 

“No!” I gasp. 

But I was too late; he already attacked and brought his life points down to 400. 

“The Eye of Illusion turns a Monster against his master, it makes the Monster think his master is the enemy.” I whisper. 

I glance at the clock, 30 seconds. 

“Our time is nearly up Yuugi. And as I have more life points than you it appears that I am the victor." 

“Time isn’t up just yet Pegasus. And you’ve left your Faceless Mage open to a Physical assault.” 

Big Yuugi holds up my favorite card, the notorious Summoned Skull. The Summoned Skull gets within millimeters of the Faceless Mage, and then they disappear. So close! 

“Well, that’s time but how close was that? If you could’ve completed that attack you would have won. But you didn’t, I did. I have taken a measure of your talents this day Yuugi Muto. And when next we duel we shall play for far higher stakes.” Pegasus laughs darkly. 

“I’m done with your games Pegasus.” Big Yuugi announces. 

“You presume I’m giving you a choice in the matter, but I’m not, for I too possess one of the Millennium Items. Behold the all-powerful Millennium Eye.” Pegasus smiles. 

He moves his hair out of his face and his gold eye glows brightly. 

“What?” I gasp. 

“An eye?” Big Yuugi seems surprised, even after the duel. 

It was as I had suspected. 

“That’s right, and now I’ll show you the true extent of its power.” 

We kneel, helpless as Pegasus steals Yuugi’s Grandpa’s soul. 

“I find that, given the proper incentive I can get anyone to play my games.” Pegasus laughs again. 

“NO!!!” Big Yuugi and I shout in unison. 

Pegasus fades away and we see Grandpa pounding on the inside of the screen. 

“Yuugi!!” he shouts. 

I see Big Yuugi change instantly into Little Yuugi. 

“Grandpa!!!” he shouts and shakes the TV. 

Everything fades back to color and the others start to move again, except someone is missing. 

“Hazel?” I ask. 

She was right next to Tristan when this all started. 

“Hazel?” I call in a panic. 

“Hazel, where are you?” I scream. 

No reply from her. I collapse on the ground in tears. While we were in the Shadow Realm some of Pegasus’ goons must have taken her, this kind of thing is not unheard of. 

“He took her. My baby. My little girl.” I pant as the reality hits me. 

Pegasus took my baby sister, and now he will die. Tears stream down my face, she’s gone. All that is left is her little red hood. She wanted to go to school as Little Red Riding Hood, but that’s all I have left of her now. I look over at Yuugi, his tears staining his face as well. I grab one of the gloves and two stars. 

“Pegasus just signed his death warrant.” I croak and I drive home.


	4. 3

I didn't sleep last night. How could I with Hazel gone? I see a small pair of shoes sticking out of the closet door and the tears fall harder. My baby girl is gone. Pegasus took her from me, and he will more than pay for what he has done to Yuugi and me; and who knows how many other people he’s hurt this way? When I watch the sunrise, I feel the weight of last night holding me down. Pegasus’ words run through my mind, “You presume I’m giving you a choice in the matter, well I’m not.” I feel a red-hot anger burning me alive, but it’s this flame that is keeping me going today.

After school that day I head to the roof for some quiet. The way people talk so cheerily after my sister was stolen from me sickens me to the point of near mass homicide. I find a section of the chain link fence to lean my throbbing head on. I intertwine my fingers with the links, and I sigh. Hazel would be here right now if I didn’t have this stupid Ring. I glare at the gold band around my middle finger on my left hand. But I think that this Ring is the only thing that will really be able to help me save her. I leave to try and think of a way to save her, but I run into Yuugi on my way down. 

“Needed some quiet?" I ask him. 

He nods but shows a small smile. 

“Come on, I’ll give you a lift.” I jerk my head toward my motorcycle. 

He follows me there and I give him my Anubis helmet. I throw on my silver Aviators and we zip off to the Game Shop. I park the bike in front when I see a piece of paper in the door. 

“Yuugi, look.” I point at the paper. 

I would be wary about pretty much anything right now, especially after last night. He pulls the piece of paper from the door. It’s an envelope. He opens it as soon as I’m standing right next to him. I can feel my heart pounding, waiting to be brought back into the dreaded Shadow Realm. But inside there is an invitation to the tournament at Duelist Kingdom. 

“20 bucks says I’ll find one of these when I get home.” I frown. 

I give him a small hug of comfort and I drive home.

The next morning, I have gotten a little bit of sleep, but only a little bit. 

“The tournament? Isn’t it at the Duelist Kingdom, an island?” Tea asks us. 

I nod, “And I’m guessing there are going to be some rule changes on the way." 

Pegasus wouldn’t want to pitch Yuugi and me the advantage. 

“So that’s where Pegasus is keeping them.” Joey concludes. 

“Maybe, the only way to know for sure is to become a contestant.” Yuugi muses. 

I nod again. 

“The boat leaves in two days.” I mutter. 

I look at Yuugi, and he stares back into my black eyes. 

“But you can’t go.” Tea complains. “It could be dangerous.” 

“We don’t really have a choice in this matter. My sister is 6 years old; how do you think Pegasus is going to treat her?” I ask harshly. 

Tea looks taken aback, but she can feel the sorrow in my voice. 

“She’s right, it’s the only clue we have for rescuing them.” Yuugi backs me up. 

“I still can’t believe it, Pegasus used some kind of weird spell to grab your Grandpa’s soul, and Isidora’s sister.”

Tristan declares. 

“That wasn’t a spell. Hazel was taken by a bunch of goons.” I stare at the table and my hair falls forward, shadowing my face. 

“But now he’s toying with you, forcing both of you to duel in the tournament.” Tristan finishes his previous statement. 

“Yeah right, and without invitations, we can’t even go there with you.” Joey pipes up. “I wish we could help you pal.” 

I look up at him and give as much smile as I can muster, which ends up being an up turned corner of my mouth, but only one. 

“This is bad.” Tea sighs. 

“You have no idea.” I murmur under my breath. 

“Hey, check this out!” Tristan exclaims, “According to this card the tournament winner takes the grand prize of 3 million dollars!” 

Wow, that could really make a difference. I look over at Joey and I can tell that he is deep in thought. 

“3 mill?” he gasps. 

He must need the money for something important if he’s that interested. 

“So what, who cares about money at a time like this?” Yuugi asks. 

I don’t think I would have said that after seeing the look on Joey’s face. 

“Gimme that! 3 million.” Joey basically drools. 

“I guess he does.” I whisper. 

“3 million in cold cash.” Joey swoons.

I head back up to the roof after school to cool down. I take my same spot at the south end of the roof and I just lean there. I hear a noise behind me, and I look over to see Joey and Yuugi standing against the fence as well. I walk over to them silently, and I listen for a little to what they were talking about. They reminisce about when they first met for a while. 

“Somehow, someway, we’ll do it together.” Joey promises. 

I come out from behind the stone corner 

“He’s right.” The boys jump at the sound of my voice. “We will do this together, because there’s no other way to do it.” I flash a full smile at them. Yuugi nods and Joey stands up.

The morning that the ship leaves I [dress](https://www.fashmates.com/set/5b57b1c4acd0a87f650fe400-1533760828881) quickly and I snag the only picture I have of Hazel and I together off the mantel. I pack a few extra sets of cloths, some food and a few camping supplies; you never know what you’ll need in Pegasus’ games. I run to my bike and I swing by Yuugi’s place to pick him up. He dashes out to meet me and we zoom to the pier. At 6:48 we stand in line together, waiting to get on the ship. We’re almost on when we hear a familiar voice. 

“How do you know I’m not official?” Joey’s voice rings out above the crowd. 

“Because you’re the only one trying to sneak on through the lower hatches.” A guard reasons with him. 

I watch Joey struggle for a few seconds when Yuugi and I run over to save the day. 

“Hey, lay off him.” I snap. 

“Let him go.” Yuugi orders. 

“What are you doing here Joey?” I ask. 

“Did you really think I would let you guys go out there on your own?” he asks us back. 

He earns one of my half smiles for that one. 

“Help me out.” Joey pleads quietly. 

“He’s with us, you’ve got to let him on.” I tell them. 

“Only people with a star chip can get on board.” The guard hisses at us. 

“But he has a star chip.” Yuugi holds up one of his chips for Joey. 

The guards go on about how Yuugi will be at a disadvantage, but the three of us know they’re wasting their breath. We get back in line to check in. When I make it to the desk, they ask me my name and I show them my star chips. 

“Wait, Isidora Lakely?” one of the staff members asks. 

I nod and raise my eyebrow. 

The man hands me a key, “Because you are the youngest Regional/ Intercontinental Champion in the past you get a private room.” The man smiles at me. 

“Thanks.” I take the key from him. 

Yuugi and Joeys' jaws drop, but they follow me onto the ship, and we find a rail to lean on. 

“Thanks for helping me on guys.” Joey smiles. “But if any of the other players find out we only have one star chip each, they could really try to take advantage of us.” 

“Then say it a little louder so everyone can hear.” I laugh. 

Joey goes a little red in the face but says nothing more. I turn slightly to see nothing but bad news on deck. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous comes walking our way. I know her as Mai Valentine already; I’ve seen the way she duels. No doubt she remembers me, I beat her on my way into the Regional's when I was 11. I lost the competition that year, but the next year I won. That was before my family died. And as I had predicted, she comes straight for us. 

“Well what do we have here?” she smirks. 

“Wow.” Joey gasps. 

“So, you’re the Yuugi kid everyone’s talking about huh?” she acts stupid. 

“Shut up Mai.” I growl. 

She looks over at me and a flash of recognition passes across her features. 

“But I’m amazed a squirt like you could beat Kaiba. You’re famous you know.” She compliments. 

“Thanks very much, I think.” Yuugi huffs, obviously not at home around the female gender. 

“Hey, I’m a really good friend of the famous Yuugi the Master Duelist.” Joey insinuates. 

“Look, you’re either a champ or a chump, cut this guy loose. He’s fashion challenged and deserves to be crushed in the games.” Mai laughs darkly. 

“Beat it Mai, before I beat you senseless.” I snarl quietly at her. 

She looks over at me, flicks her hair and struts away. 

“I remember Huston.” I call after her. 

That makes her stumble for a step or two and then she stomps off, knowing that I made her look like a fool again. 

“What was that all about?” Yuugi asks. 

“I beat her in my first shot at the Regional title. She still isn’t too happy about it; I was 11 then. She tried to sabotage my matches ever since, but she didn’t have to do that for too long. I won the Regionals the next year, won the Intercontinental title, and then my family died. The other relatives looked very down upon Duel Monsters and wouldn’t allow me to keep playing while I stayed there. I dueled on the sly, yes, but it isn’t the same.” I finish my small story. 

“What? Your family is all . . . dead?” Joey asks. 

I nod; I had forgotten that Joey didn’t know. 

“I’m sorry I-“ 

I cut him off, “Joey I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. The only reason I told Yuugi is because I knew that for something that big, I could trust him. Not that I can’t trust you, but that was just after I nearly strangled you.” I admit. 

He seems to take a hint and we drop the topic. We walk into where everyone else will be sleeping and Joey loses it. 

“Is this a joke or what?” a guard comes running. “This is a luxury cruiser I know you got better rooms somewhere.” 

I step in front of Joey, but the guards have already grabbed him. I hear a high, annoying, male voice behind me. 

“Hey aren’t you that Yuugi kid?” Weevil Underwood chirps. 

We turn to look at him, and I can already see a plan formulating in his little insect mind. 

“Yeah, and you’re-” Yuugi starts. 

“Weevil, and Rex the Dino duelist.” Joey finishes his thought. 

“Ha, you’re wasting your time with those guys. Private rooms only go to the Finalists from the last Championship, like us.” Rex brags. 

“That’s funny, because I have a key, and I’m not a Finalist from the Championship this year.” I smirk. 

Their jaws drop as they realize who I am. 

“Isidora Lakely? The Ghost? Fire Bird?” Weevil asks. 

“One in the same.” I answer modestly, I had forgotten that old name for me, Ghost. But, Fire Bird, I remember that one. 

Rex seems to have humbled himself since he figured out who is standing in front of him. 

“You’re the youngest person to ever win a Regional Championship and the Intercontinental title in the history of Duel Monsters.” Weevil squeals. 

Rex and many others stare in awe. 

“I’m sharing my room with my friends; can you say the same?” I ask them both curiously. 

There is a deeper meaning to my question, to see whether either of them is worth a real fight. 

“No.” Weevil answers. 

“Why would I do that?” Rex smirks. 

“Such a pity.” The left corner of my mouth twitches up for a split second. 

Neither of them is worth it to me to duel. 

“Congratulations on winning the Regionals Weevil.” Yuugi changes the topic. 

“It was nothing.” Weevil boasts. 

These guys are worse than I thought. 

“Yeah, I went easy on him that time.” Rex covers for himself. 

Joey breaks free of the guards’ grasp and joins us. 

“Yeah, well this time Yuugi, Izzy, and I are going to take the tournament, right guys?” he asks us. 

I nod confidently. 

“To tell you the truth, winning the last Championship didn’t feel like that much of an achievement. I guess I can’t really call myself the Champion until I defeat the duelist who beat Kaiba.” Weevil smirks at Yuugi. “But I’m sure I’ll be battling you in the big tournament Yuugi. Actually, I look forward to it.” He shifts his glasses in a sinister fashion. 

Yuugi doesn’t seem to catch the foul stench of that threat. 

“I look forward to it too.” He replies. 

I throw Weevil a glare that would send most people running, but he just stands there, until he actually sees the glare. 

“Let me tell you a secret Yuugi.” Weevil comes closer. “Something none of the other players know about the games yet.” 

I lean in slightly, but not enough to let them think I care. 

“Isn’t that cheating?” Yuugi asks. 

He’s so innocent it’s cute, and rather disturbing at the same time. 

“The others will find out soon enough. But there are new rules on the island that require a completely different strategy.” 

I raise an eyebrow, where are my 20 bucks? 

“Yeesh, rules are for weaklings. You either smash or get smashed.” Rex butts in. 

Rex tells everyone to stay out of his way; I just roll my eyes at him. 

“Ignore him, let’s scope out the competition.” Weevil suggests. 

Of course, I had been doing this the whole time I’ve been on this ship. Looking for easy prey for the most part, but I also want some real duels. 

“Check out those chumps, already trading over there. Players here are swapping cards and strengthening their decks, getting ready for the big tournament. It’s also a chance to get a feel for the opponent’s cards.” Weevil explains to Joey, who then runs over and starts trading. 

“I guess Joey is trading.” I smile slightly at him. 

“If you come here and still try to improve your deck, you’ve got to be pretty desperate.” Weevil insults Joey mildly. 

I tap Yuugi on the shoulder and tell him that I’m going to drop my bag, he decides to come with me, and we don’t really say anything the whole time. I look behind us as I hear a door open, and I could swear I saw . . . Bakura? But it couldn’t be. We keep walking and I drop my bag in our suite. I carry my deck in a pocket on the inside of my jacket; I want to ensure nobody can knick cards off of me.

Yuugi and I lean against a railing when Joey finds us. 

“Hey guys look at the cool cards I traded for.” He smiles happily. 

“Baby Dragon is one of my favorites. And those Magic cards will definitely come in handy in a duel.” I praise him. 

“Yeah, the new Monsters combined with the Magic cards, you’ll have a really strong deck.” Yuugi adds. 

“Yes, and now I’m ready to win every duel I play.” Joey grins. 

“It’ll be a little harder than that Joey. Here, add this to your deck, it’ll help you out of tight spots.” Yuugi hands over the Time Wizard to Joey. 

“Thanks, Yuugi, I can’t get over how you’re always helping me out.” Joey playfully nudges Yuugi in the shoulder. 

I set my jacket on a table close by and lean back against the rail, breathing in the night air, tipping my head backwards to let the sea breeze entangle itself in my long hair. 

“So, we meet again.” Weevil’s scratchy voice interrupts my silence. 

“So, we do.” I acknowledge curtly. 

“The evening wind sure feels nice.” Weevil says as he stands very close to me. 

I scoot down the rail to communicate that I’m not interested. 

“You trade for any good cards Yuugi?” he asks. 

“Nah, I’m going to duel with the cards I brought with me.” Yuugi smiles. 

“I figured you would.” Weevil smirks. 

“You used the Exodia cards in your duel with Kaiba right? Those are the strongest cards in the entire game!” 

“And really rare.” Yuugi adds. 

I can sense where this is going already. 

“We should go.” I warn Yuugi. 

“Could I possibly see them?” Weevil asks. 

“Yuugi, don’t do it.” I warn more urgently than my last. 

He shakes his head at me, then smiles “I don’t see why not.”, and he hands the cards over to Weevil. 

He takes them over toward the railing, and I can already see what he is going to do; I run at him to tear the cards away from him. But I was too late, he throws the cards overboard, and I go in after them. On my way down I hear Weevil cackling, until I hit the water. I grab one as soon as I splash down, but I barely get out of the way when Joey splashes next to me. I hear Yuugi yelling down at us. 

“They aren’t worth drowning over you two!” 

I think they are. I swim after them, but I can’t catch up, the current is really strong. Not to mention swimming isn’t exactly my strong point. 

I swim after Joey, who has picked up two cards by now, and I hear him egging himself on, “If I punk out now who’ll help my sister Serenity?” 

His sister, so he does feel the same pain I do, kinda. Yuugi jumps in after us, hauling Joey to the surface of the water. I’m having a rough time staying on top of the water without another person to carry, and Yuugi is so small. I hear a ladder clunk on the side of the ship, and I look up. 

“Grab a hold!” Tea’s voice greets my ears. 

I swim and get Yuugi over to the ladder before I climb up after them.

“That sure was close. I’m really glad you guys showed up.” Yuugi pants. 

“Yeah, thanks.” I huff. 

“We’re a team, we all stick together.” Tea smiles. 

“We’ve always got your back.” Tristan chips in. 

“I’m sorry Yuugi.” Joey mutters. 

“What?” he asks. 

“I failed. Again. Just like I always do. I only found two of your cards.” Joey frowns. 

"It’s okay Joey.” Yuugi tries to cheer him up. 

“No, it’s not okay. It’s always this way with me, I’m never able to help anybody. Not even my own sister Serenity.” He admits. 

“Serenity? You really have a sister?” Tea asks. 

“Our parents divorced years ago, when we were kids. She lives far away from me, with my mother. She’s had really bad eyes since she was born, eventually she’ll go blind.” 

Now I know what Joey wanted the prize money for. 

“I’m sorry.” Yuugi offers. 

“Thanks, Yuugi. She sent me a message; the doctors told her that the time has come. Soon her eyes will be impossible to repair, even with surgery. But there is specialist who could perform an operation now before it’s too late.” He pauses, “They could save her eyesight. But there’s no way I could pay for that kind of thing. So, I have to win for her. It’s the only way I can help her.” Joey declares. 

I leave to run and grab my bag; I don't think any of us will be sleeping after that little adventure. When I return the horn goes off, and the sun rises. 

“We’ll all do our best, you guys for your sisters, and me for my Grandpa.” Yuugi exclaims. 

Joey and I hand over the three cards that we saved, hoping it will ease his burden. 

“We’ll do this together, like we always have.” Tea encourages us. 

We look across the water line and we can see the Island. We’re almost there.


End file.
